Bits & Pieces...

I love you so much...

I recently came home to this charming graffiti on my front door. It's nice to know that the kids around here are paying attention during their English lessons :)

A recent snap of me and Princes Yassmine...

Speaking of Royalty, the King himself made a visit to Tounfite a few weeks ago. The town was bustling with madness leading up to his arrival. He came to inaugurate a new educational complex for vocational training and youth integration.

 

And now I will cheat and quote the news report on his visit...

    'The educational complex aims to boost training and capacity building of the region’s women and youth in income- and employment-generating local businesses, as it provides women’s literacy programmes while ensuring preschool education to children, in order to improve the socio-economic integration of women and youth in precarious situation.

     The new facility has a unit of tourist information and guidance that works in synergy with other units in the region, especially those of Midelt and Imilchil.

    It also includes several centres including one for women’s training and qualification, which houses workshops for pastry, dressmaking, weaving carpets in addition to a day-nursery and a play area for children.

    The vocational training centre for young people consists of workshops for wood joinery, agricultural training, a greenhouse, in addition to computer science and literacy rooms.

    The complex also includes a showroom and an area to sell local products, as well as reception services through the housing center."

And now for some whining from me...while the complex may sound fantastic, the reality is it is already brewing with corruption. The woman who was appointed (and now in a rather cushily paid position) to teach the young women how to weave...HAS NO IDEA HOW TO WEAVE. Sigh. This is not an isolated case by any means...the King inaugurated many center's during his visit to the region and almost all have unqualified person's collecting paychecks for teaching a course they have no clue about and aren't actually teaching. 

The most frustrating part for me is that seeing as the appointed person's aren't qualified and have no idea where to begin, Rabha has been asked to go and teach the women how to use the looms...for free. And seeing as she is such a kind-hearted soul, who gets the concept of volunteerism, thanks to her work with Peace Corps volunteers, she has already agreed to go and help out. Blah. She knows my thoughts on the situation and has promised me her services are only fabor (free) for the initial class...

Okay, enough ranting. You can clearly see my frustration with the situation. Moving onto to more pleasant news...

The week before HM King Mohammed VI came to Tounfite, Rabha received a personal invitation from His Majesty to attend the grand opening of 'The King's Center' in Midelt. During which she got to shake his hand as speak briefly with him. Apparently, after the handshake he pointed to a wooden machine and asked her if she knew what it was...albeit a bit of an arrogant question considering she is the President of a weaving cooperative and the machine was a wool spinner-which was a no brainer for her, she pleased him with her ease of response and he then informed her that he was rewarding Cooperative Chorouk's hard work (which he was aware of because of their affiliation with Peace Corps) with some fabulous gifts...Two 4-meter and one 3- meter metal looms complete with matching benches, a machine that spins the wool, and a maintenance/repair kit for the looms. RESULT. 

Now we just have to find a building for the Cooperative. Currently, the looms are in pieces taking up half of Rabha's house. My goal for the month of January is secure a building for the Cooperative. I've decided to take an entourage of Peace Corps Volunteers to the Caid's (Mayor) office in Tounfite and have everyone gush on about what a hardworking, fantastic Cooperative we are and I suppose do a bit of diplomatic begging for a physical building for them.  Sounds like a pretty rad plan, eh? 

If 'Project Occupy the Caid's Office' doesn't work...I will write a Special Project's Assistance (SPA) grant in the hopes that Peace Corps wants to help us out. Rabha's father has agreed to donate some land for the building space, so that will cover 'in-kind' community contributions for the grant. Ideally however, the Caid will give into our charisma and charm and hand over a building, leaving the SPA grant funds for more equipment for the Cooperative. So finger's crossed everyone. 

More good news on the work front...I recently sent an e-mail to twenty-eight stores in the USA who are currently importing Moroccan textiles, in the hope that someone would like our rugs and agree to start importing them. Within two hours of sending the e-mail, I received a most pleasing response. (Call me selfish, go ahead, but I'm not going to name the store on here as I don't want all the other Peace Corps Volunteers stealing my new found glory...) So, XXX Store in San Francisco, liked the pictures, and responded with a detailed order request. The most beautiful part of the whole thing, is that he already has a warehouse in Marrakesh, so we just have to get the carpets there, and he takes care of the actual exporting...splendid, just splendid I tell you!

More to come soon...

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all!!!

Miriam xXx

A Sad Day in Tounfite...

View from my Roof

I'm very sad to say that my host great-grandfather passed away on in the early hours of Tuesday morning. The past week has certainly been the saddest of my service, with all my family in mourning. BaHaLu, (grandfather) as we called him, was Mamaksu's (my host grandmother) and MBarsh's (my landlord) father.

I am certain that he is in a better place now, as for the past year, every time I have visited my landlords' house, BaHaLu has been lying in his makeshift bed in the corner of the living room, next to the furno (woodstove). He ate all his meals and spent all his time there only getting up, with assistance, to go to the toilet.

When I left for my morning run on Tuesday, I saw a crowd outside the family's house and instantly knew why. For the past couple weeks, every time I have dined with the family, BaHaLu barely ate anything, pushing the food away as MBarsh tried to feed him. And with the very cold weather we have had, it all added up immediately.

I waited until the afternoon to stop by and pay my respects. In the end I was there for nine hours that evening and I returned again the next day for a few hours. Family came from all over Morocco to be together and to mourn. I can not imagine how exhausting it must have been for Mama (MBarsh's wife) as their home was filled with 50+ people for three days. The door was always open and members of the community came in and out to pay their respects from 9am until well past midnight each day. Every time a woman hugged Mamaksu or another close relative of BaHaLu, there was hysterically sobbing from both of the women for a few minutes, even if sometimes there were no tears left to be shed, sobbing continued.

There was a small army of women in the kitchen ensuring that tea and bouchiere (fried flaky bread) were on constant offer. At meal times a feast was offered to all that were in the house. Lunch was three courses and dinner as well. The amount of work that took place in the tiny kitchen during those three days was beyond incredible. Imagine, feeding 50+ people twice a day and always having bread and tea on hand, all the while grieving BaHaLu's death.

As with most gatherings, men and women sat in separate rooms. Prayer could be heard almost continually coming from the men's room, and sobbing from the women's. The first hour was quite awkward for me as I have only ever been to western style funerals and I wasn't quite sure what the protocol was for an Islamic funeral.

As I entered the room, I greeted each woman by touching their palms to mine and then kissing my hand, this is a common greeting and is used daily. For the immediate family, we greeted by kissing cheeks 4-10 times and I said the phrase Baraka Frasskum which means, Blessings to you all, and is a way of giving condolences in Arabic. After greeting every woman in the room, Mamaksu insisted I sit next to her and for the rest of the afternoon and evening, we sat together and greeted the masses of friends and family who came to pay their respects.

Things have calmed down now and are slowly getting back to normal, but BaHaLu will most certainly be missed by all. May he rest in peace.

Sending love to you all,

Miriam xXx

P.S. I almost forgot to mention that while at the funeral, Mamaksu introduced me to one of my host-cousins, a woman who lives in Meknes. Turns out she is an English teach in the Moroccan Air Force. It was nice to have someone to speak a English with and funnily enough, her husband is also in the Air Force and spent six years in America at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas and in Tucson, Arizona at Davis Air Force Base--working on F-16's!!! For those that don't know, once upon a time my Dad was also in the US Air Force...working on F-16's!

High Atlas Wedding Trek

On the way to Rebha's parents 

Waterfall next to Rebha's parents' house

Outside her parents' house

Setting off

Easy way up

Two hours in

Three hours in

Rebha's mom baking bread in the outdoor bread oven 

Talk about creative

Abdullah (Rebha's brother), Rebha and her Mom, baking bread on top of the woodstove

A couple weeks ago,  Rebha invited me to join her on a trip into the mountains to her parents' house. Her brother at 44 was to be wed and I was invited to accompany her on a trek to pick up the bride. We left on Tuesday morning and hiked for one and a half hours through the foothills,  to the base of Mascar (the mountain next to Tounfite). Her parents live in a three-room mud house at the very base of the mountain. They live without electricity and the closest neighbor is about a half an hour walk. The pictures I am including don't do the views justice. They have a billion dollar view.  


Upon our arrival we were greeted with massive smiles and hugs to match. Rebha and I drank some tea and refueled ourselves with bread,  olive oil,  butter and fresh walnuts,  before taking a short hike to a nearby waterfall. Upon return to her parents house,  we had lunch which was a tagine of chicken,  carrots,  potatoes,  caramelized onions and raisins. Everything but the raisins was from their garden,  including the chicken.  


After lunch,  we went outside where Rebha's younger brother was waiting with two mules-one for me and one for him,  and a donkey for Rebha. There were blankets for saddles and I was given a very special pair of stirrups (two stirrups connected with rope, hung across the mule). Rebha and her brother rode without such a luxury. We then rode through and along the High Atlas Mountains for four hours to Ait Chaouili a small village nestled in the mountains,  home of Rebha's soon to be new sister-in-law. The ride was breathtaking. Again,  the pictures simply don't do it justice and words can't describe.


Upon arrival at the brides house,  we relaxed for a couple hours,  drinking tea and eating bread with olive oil,  honey and oodi (rancid butter). Around 7pm,  the members of the village began to arrive at the house for the bride's 'leaving' dinner/wedding celebration. Men were in a separate room from women and the arrivals continued for just over two hours. I sat next to Rebha and tried hard to ignore about 50 pairs of eyes staring at me.  Dinner was served once everyone had arrived and we ate tagine followed by couscous, which is two dinners at one time! 


After dinner we sat for another hour or so allowing everyone more time to stare at me. Around 11pm,  the bride joined us (she ate dinner in the kitchen with her mother and sisters) for traditional local wedding rituals. First,  an entire pack of incense was lit on the table next to me. A plate of dates was passed around as Rebha washed the bride's hands and feet with Henna  before presenting her with a new suitcase full of clothes,  shoes,  makeup,  perfume and other bits and pieces for her to take to her new home with Rebha's family. A sheet was placed over the bride and Rebha so that non of us could see them and Rebha helped her change into a new kaftan (fancy dress used for special occasions). The rest of the women were chanting and singing traditional wedding songs throughout the entire event.


Once the bride was changed into her new kaftan,  a few of the women gathered the presents from the suitcase and placed them on large trays. They hoisted the trays on their heads and we all stood and clapped and danced around the bride. It was amazing to be a part of the celebration and rituals, certainly another thing I will never forget. 


As soon as all the guests had left,  Rebha and I made our way outside...most of the houses in the village are without toilets and so we ventured into the darkness to spend a penny before bed. Bed was a pile of blankets on the floor and Rebha, myself and her brother shared a room to sleep. , In the morning,  Rebha and I went on a short walk before breakfast. I took some pictures of the village from the roof of a nearby house and afterwards we returned to the brides house for a breakfast of tea, bread, olive oil and jam...seeing a pattern yet? 


After breakfast,  we went on another walk with one of the bride's little sisters. She showed us around the village and we ended up sitting in a field, next to a tethered mule, talking about work with the Cooperative and beliefs/traditions in Islam vs. culture in the United States. While we were sitting there,  the girl picked a turnip from the field and munched away at it. Without prompting from me, Rebha gave a small lecture about washing the vegetables off before she eats them which made me happy.


Lunch was ready when we got back to the bride's house. We drank soup and ate tagine and then had about three glasses of sweet green tea. After lunch, the girls from the family all gathered to dress the bride up for her journey to her new home at Rebha's parents. She washed her face over a bowl of water and black eyeliner was applied afterwards. The girls loved having their pictures taken and I had to struggle to keep the camera in my hands as they all wanted to look at the pictures. 


We then went outside where the entourage of mules and donkeys were waiting for our journey back to Rebha's parents. The brides parents and uncle joined us on the trek back and the bride rode double with Rebha's younger brother (not the groom as he was not present for any of this). In fact, the bride and groom had never actually spoken, ever. We rode for four hours and while it was even more beautiful on the way back,  with the view of the bride on a mule in front of me,  it was Painful. And I mean I wasn't comfortable at any point during the journey. The four hours the day before were enough to gently bruise my behind, and all I could think of was what the next day would be like after 8 hours of riding in two days...


When we got back we ate more bread, drank more tearelaxed until dinnertime. Dinner was pressure cooked beef and bread. After dinner everyone had an early night as we were all  exhausted from the traveling. The next morning we had breakfast (the usual) and then we pretty much sat around (I sat on a pillow, which still didn't mask the pain) until lunch time. People hiked in from Tounfite and surrounding villages for the 'wedding lunch'. I'm guessing there were about 60 people in total, with the men in one room and women in another. Again, I was stared at the whole time. At one point I went outside to take a phone call and within two minutes I was surrounded by about 15 children staring and giggling at me as I spoke that crazy English language on the phone. There was more sitting and tea drinking after lunch, which led all the way up to dinner (more meat and bread) and then at last, bed. 


During the night a storm rolled in off the mountain and brought with it a thick haze of fog,  which actually filled the house. It woke me up,  but no one else,  as it made breathing slightly difficult for me. I'm guessing the altitude affected me and that they are used to it, but it was certainly bizarre. The storm brought was high winds and rain,  which made the morning hike back to Tounfite pretty miserable. 


I never did see the bride and groom have any kind of interaction,  they were kept in separate rooms the whole time. Rebha told me that later that day, once all the guests had left, they would be able to speak to each other. I know I've been here for a year and had all this time to get used to the concept of arranged marriages, but physically being in the middle of the wedding, I was having a hard time wrapping my head around the whole thing.  


I'll be honest, I got pretty teary eyed on the ride back from the bride's village to Rebha's parents' house. It was a combination of the scenic views, bride wrapped in a wedding blanket on the back of a mule being carried to her new life and home, and the fact that I was a part of all it. I honestly felt like I was a character in a children's story about a princess being taken to her wedding through the mountains on horseback...Then the sweeping realization that it is in fact a true story and I will be able to tell it for the rest of my life...okay...you get me, it was emotional :) 

Brides' Village-Ait Chaouili

Brides' Village-Ait Chaouili

Wedding Rituals

Wedding Rituals

Mama, the bride is in the middle

Singing and Dancing around Mama

Mama, the bride

Holding the brides' presents and singing

Just before the bride leaves for her new home...the orange/yellow sequin dazzleness is a traditional Berber wedding blanket

Taking the bride to her new home

:)

I'll end on a funny note...Rebha's father and grandfather, being so close to the mountains do a lot of hunting. For this, they have hunting dogs to help them bring back their kill. It's so unusual to see purebred dogs in Morocco, as most are crossbred strays since people don't have pets here. Anyways, Rebha's family have two very pretty dogs, which came from France (a friend brought them back as a gift). There is now an adorable puppy who I got to play with for three days before finding out that his name is Booby :) Apparently it's a man's name in French...The women were in hysterics when I showed them what it means in English :)

Much love,

Miriam xXx

The infamous 'Booby'

Maternal Health & Childcare Training

2011 Tounfite Maternal Health & Childcare Training Participants

This is an annual training led by health volunteers in my area, along with the help of volunteers from other sectors, like me. There were seven of us in total, along with my counterpart Rebha, who helped to organize and facilitate the event. The training was the fourth consecutive training of trainers, aimed at addressing the high maternal and infant mortality rates of the High Atlas Mountain region surrounding Tounfite.

Over sixteen women from eleven different douars (tiny villages scattered throughout the mountains) convened for the 3-day training on October 16-24 at the Tounfite Birthing Center. A month or so before the training, we hiked into the surrounding mountains to recruit women for the training. 


The training was funded by a grant from the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF). This allowed us to pay my host family to host the women in their home for the length of the training. It was a lot of work for them as they had over sixteen women to prepare breakfast, lunch and dinner for each day, along with regular daily household chores. They did a brilliant job opening their home to the women. 

Each day after breakfast the women walked to the birthing center for morning training sessions as outlined below. The afternoons were dedicated to review and the practicing of teach backs in small groups, using the information learned in the morning sessions.

Day One: Introductions, Womens Health Problems of the Atlas Region, Purpose of training-Encourage Prenatal & Postnatal Visits at the hospital and the Encourage Giving Birth at the Hospital vs. Home, Womens Anatomy and Sexual Development, Intercourse and Fertility Cycles, Family Planning, Sexually Transmitted Infections

Day Two: Pregnancy, Nutrition, Birthing Process, Newborn and Infant Care, Breast Feeding and Maternal Care

Day Three: Personal Hygiene and Common/Basic Newborn and Infant Illnesses

On the last evening we held a celebration dinner and presented certificates of participation to each of the women. 

                 

The most important part of the training was the opportunity to provide female leaders from rural areas a safe space to discuss sensitive topics from female sexual and reproductive anatomy to proper condom use. Also, a big focus was educating the women on teaching skills; trainees were required to practice, rehearse, and teach back the topics they learned to other trainees. This helped to better prepare the women for the teach backs they will facilitate upon return to their villages.

It was impressive to see the dedication and focus the trainees had in retaining the knowledge they learned and putting it into practice. At one point we observed one trainee speaking to a group of women, who were waiting in line outside the hospital, about the importance of family planning. This was done of her own volition and not prompted by any volunteer or community partner.

The training was huge success and exceeded all of our expectations as volunteers. Many of the women who have participated in the past proclaimed that this year's event was also one of the best organized and most useful. I'm look forward to making visits into the mountains to help the new Rural Health Educators kick-off their first teach-back to other women in their villages.

While the training was on very serious and culturally taboo topics, there were as always, a few humorous moments which I will share with you...


The first was on the second day, when we asked the women as a group, "where do babies come from?" and a few very serious responses were fingers pointed at the sky and the exclamation, 'sug Rrbie' which means 'from God'. Ah, Bless. 

The second was during one of my afternoon small group sessions. I was reviewing family planning with my four women and I asked them to name the four ways to prevent an unwanted pregnancy. We had covered the topic in the morning and the correct answers were; birth control pill, injection birth control, intrauterine device (IUD) and condoms. The women were able to name the first three with ease and then struggled for awhile, before one lovely lady exclaimed, "ariyaz adil3ab duh ixfinus" which literally translates to...'the man should just play with himself.' 
I managed to contain the fit of giggles inside me, until I was back at my house with the other volunteers. 

The Peace Corps Crew

My Afternoon Small Discussion Group

Practicing Teach Backs

My Small Group Presenting their Teach Back Topic

Morning Sessions

Showing the women and IUD

Practicing the Correct Way to Wash Your Hands

Last Evening's Celebration Dinner/Party

Sound of a Moroccan Wedding

Ramadan came to an end as did the 2.45am wake-up drums and call to prayer, which you got to hear for yourselves in my last post.

Finally, back to a normal sleep routine...or so I thought! 

Wedding season started in June and came to a halt during Ramadan.  I thought that meant the weddings were through until next summer, but apparently there were still weddings to be had.

I enjoyed one night of silence after the last day of Ramadan and then the weddings resumed.

This started around 12.30am and carried on until well past 3am :)

Sound of a Moroccan Wedding...from my bedroom

Miriam x

Sound of Ramadan

This is really a video post...but, to help you understand, I've included an short excerpt from my previous entry 'Ramadan Report: The Late Edition'.

'...As soon as Lftar is over the women get back to business in the kitchen preparing dinner which is eaten anywhere from 9pm-12pm depending whose house you are visiting...Most people then have a short sleep until 2.45am, when they wake up for suoar, the last meal before the next day of fasting begins. Suoar is another hearty meal of tagine or duez.  


In larger towns and cities suoar is signaled by the early morning call to prayer. In my site, it was also signaled by drums! Imagine every morning, for one month being woken up by a parade of drums at 2.45am...'

Okay, so now you don't have to imagine anymore. Be sure to listen all the way through. 


Click HERE, close your eyes, pretend you have been dreaming away...


Miriam x


P.S. Smooches to Francesca (the best friend a girl could ask for), who sent me the amazing Flip used to make this...sound capture :)  

Ramadan Report (The late edition)

Fes Medina

In Islam, there are five things (known as the five pillars of faith) that one must do in order to be a good Muslim. One of those is fasting during the month of Ramadan. 

From sunrise, until sundown (which is signaled by the ability to look at a thread from a short distance and tell if it is black or white)  Muslims are prohibited from eating, drinking, smoking, and sex. There are exceptions for pregnant women, the ill, the elderly, women on their periods and those that are traveling. For some, mainly those with the ability to adapt their schedule, Ramadan isn’t too difficult, it simply means sleeping all day and being awake all night. For those with day jobs however, the month is much more trying.  I felt most for those in the South as the temperature during the day was well above 30-40 Celsius. Can you imagine working in a field under the beating sun and not being able to have even a sip of water?? 

The Islamic calendar is a lunar one, so each year Ramadan moves forward a little bit. This year, in Morocco, it started on the 1^st of August and ended on the 31^st.

Around 7pm, after a day of fasting and working, families and friends gather for the most anticipated meal of the day, ‘Lftar’ (Break-Fast). Preparation for Lftar, begins once the late afternoon call to prayer is called, which was around 4pm. Men go to the mosque to pray and the women get busy in the kitchen in order to have everything ready in time. The food is generally the same in every household. Three dates and a sip of water is the correct way to break the fast, followed by a table full of chebakia (Moroccan sesame cookie which is shaped into a flower, fried and then coated with honey), dates, olives, cookies, cake and of course sweet mint tea. 

Fat bread is the main attraction at the table and is only eaten during Ramadan. It is basically a flatbread which has been stuffed with a variation of sautéed onions, peppers, small amount of sheep fat, parsley, cumin, paprika and red pepper. Trust me, it may not sound fabulous, and while it is quite greasy and most certainly not healthy for you, it was absolutely delicious and after all, one month a year can’t hurt, right? The finale of lftar is Harira, which is a Moroccan tomato, lentil and chickpea soup-one of my favorites.

As soon as Lftar is over the women get back to business in the kitchen preparing dinner which is eaten anywhere from 9pm-12pm depending whose house you are visiting. This is typically either duez (pressure cooked meat and vegetables) or tagine. Most people then have a short sleep until 2.45am, when they wake up for suoar, the last meal before the next day of fasting begins. Suoar is another hearty meal of tagine or duez. In larger towns and cities suoar is signaled by the early morning call to prayer. In my site, it was also signaled by drums! Imagine every morning, for one month being woken up by a parade of drums at 2.45am

While many volunteers choose to fast, I didn’t. I was honest with my family and friends who continually asked if I was fasting. Some volunteers told little white lies and when asked, said that they were fasting, in order to score brownie points with community members. There were also a few volunteers who were asked to open their mouths and stick their tongues out so that it could be determined whether or not they had cheated and had a sneaky glass of water or snack. 

Life in general comes to a slow churn during the month of Ramadan. With most shops only open a couple hours a day, or very late at night and not as frequent options for transportation. With everyone trying to keep cool and rest inside their homes during the day, the streets of my site were pretty much like a ghost town. Work in the fields was either completed in the early hours of the morning after suoar, or in the late afternoon. I broke-fast (okay, I technically wasn't breaking-fast) with my Moroccan friends and family regularly, and developed quite a craving for fat bread and harira. I only experienced suoar once and that was while visiting my host family in Ait Hamza, with my brother Carl.

Carl, came to visit me during the first week of August. While Ramadan isn’t the most ideal time to visit Morocco it was an adventure and a first for both of us and I’m pretty sure he enjoyed it! He was able to see Fes, my site and surrounding villages and my training site, Ait Hamza.

While in Fes, we went to the ‘Ramadan carnival’, which took place in the large square next to Bab Boujloud. Think of the most gypsy-ish carnival you can imagine and you will be on the right path to imagining what this was like. The main attraction was the ferris wheel, which as you know normally crawls around at a very slow speed allowing you to see the views from the top of the wheel. Apparently, Moroccan ferris wheels are different. This one flew around at light speed, which was funny until we all looked up at what was holding our carriage onto the wheel-a large rusty nail bent in half hooking us on! Not to mention that when we went to enter the carriage, the floor was covered in vomit. When I told the gypsy (who refused to give me his tears…) carnival man that there was vomit and asked him to please give us the next carriage, he simply threw some cardboard over the vomit and told us to get in! Haha, sigh, oh Morocco.

Carl and I spent the next night with my host family in Ait Hamza. We arrived in time to break-fast, spent some time chatting with the family and then went to bed around 12pm. Hafida woke us up at 2.45am for suoar. I’m sure if you ask Carl, he will tell you this was his favorite hour of the trip…right Carl? Carl is a vegetarian and while he was prepared to eat a little meat in order not to offend anyone, I don’t think he was prepared to be woken up at 2.45am and have a giant (and I mean Giant) platter of meat put in front of him! He was a trooper though and nonchalantly dipped his bread in the sauce avoiding any masses of meat. Banana flan was served for dessert and back to bed we went.

After that he got to spend a couple days with me here in site, experiencing the wonders of public transport in order to get here. He met all my friends and family here and everyone was so happy to have him, including me. While he was here, we hiked out into the mountains surrounding Tounfite and visited some of the tiny dwars (villages) scattered throughout the mountains. We accompanied Moses, who was recruiting women for this Fall's Maternal Health and Childcare training, which takes place next week. It was my first time in the mountains and it was especially nice to have Carl there to witness the simplistic way of life (most of the dwars are without running water or electricity) and of course the culture. The dwars reminded me of the grandfather's house in the classic film Heidi with Shirley Temple.

After Carl’s visit I had a short getaway to Budapest and Hedervar in Hungary for a good friends wedding. Despite a momentary hiccup in happiness, I managed to have a fantastic time in Hungary. I not only met some really great people and made new friends, but I also got to be a part of Barbara and Attila’s most special day, which was fairy-tale beautiful.

Speaking of weddings, wedding season here in Morocco is almost over with. It began in mid-June, stopped for Ramadan and will be complete in the next couple weeks. Last night my neighbors had a wedding. It was quite possibly the town’s largest wedding of the season and it took place right next to my house-lucky me! It started with a parade of cars honking their horns through town for about an hour at 4pm yesterday. Then came the drums. I could hear them getting closer and closer and they took stage pretty much outside my front door. The drumming went on for a few hours and then came the band. I’m telling you I hit the jackpot :P Music shook my house until 5.30am this morning!!! L’Humdullah (thanks be to God) it will all be over soon…that is until next year. 


I had dinner with my landlords family last night, and they explained to me that the Caid (Mayor) of Tounfite came to the wedding house earlier and smeared oodi (rancid butter) over the front door and left a glass of milk for the bride to drink. Apparently, the oodi is for luck and the milk is so that the bride will be as white as the milk and will either lose existing freckles or prevent her from ever getting any...in case any one was wondering how to get rid of their freckles...you are welcome. :P

Fall has arrived and with it comes the cold. The smell of woodstoves has returned, bringing back that smoky-lumberjack smell to all my washing as it dries on the roof. The sound of women chopping wood is constant throughout the day, as are the repetitive conversations about the cold, such as “illa asmid” “illa iqrf” “mani furnonm” “is ghorm isherdin” “is ghorm lmonta” (there is cold, there is cold, where is your woodsotve, do you have firewood, do you have blankets?) Along with chopping firewood and all their other daily tasks, the women can also be found on the roof sorting through the recent harvest of corn and grains, leaving it on the roof for the sun to dry out.

I’m looking forward to winter here. For me, it is the most beautiful time in my site. Waking up to a view of snow capped mountains everyday, cozy in my room with my little woodstove keeping me toasty. While most certainly not a lazy or easy one, the simplicity of life here is what I relish the most.

Heading into the mountains

Walking to an outer dwar of Ait Hamza

Typical Lftar Spread

Ferris Wheel of Death 

Aith Hamza

Moroccan Car Wash in Ait Hamza

Camel anyone? 

Overlooking the Tanneries 

Brunch at Cafe Clock

My Henna'd Hands & Feet